Name a film that has scared the hell out of you. Does it haunt you to this
day? I thought so. Were you terrified by the relentless tension, or a single
terrific twist? Does it feature an iconic scene - Jack Nicholson chopping
through the bathroom door, for instance; or a sausage popping out of John
Hurt's chest? Is there a ghost as creepy as the caped dwarf in Nicolas
Roeg's elegant masterpiece Don't Look Now? Or is your favourite fright movie
besotted with the hillbilly freaks to be found in Deliverance and The Texas
Chain Saw Massacre?
In short, what are the secrets of the perfect scary film? Roeg has a theory.
“We live in constant danger. When we see a good scary movie we are haunted
by the sense that ‘there, but for the grace of God, go I'.
“But I think the things in our lives that we fear most - indeed so much so
that we don't even want to discuss them - come in the disguise of the
familiar. That's what I saw in Daphne du Maurier's novella of Don't Look
Now. I saw two people in a desperate and tragic situation who failed to see
the further danger that was stalking them.”
I have my own lopsided ideas. I saw The Exorcist at a woundingly young age and
I'm still struggling to repair the damage. To my mind, William Friedkin's
controversial 1973 masterpiece about the exorcism of a 13-year-old girl is
the scariest - and most psychologically treacherous (at least to Catholics)
- horror movie ever made. Never mind the pea-soup vomit or the foul-mouthed
antics of Linda Blair's demonic child. It is the feeling of invasion, of
ceding control to a malevolent other, that makes me bite the seat.
The damage The Exorcist inflicted on my psyche as a teenager might look like a
distant ripple, but the nightmares have had 20 years to recede. On the eve
of writing my history O level exam I had an encounter with fear that was
pure Friedkin. Sitting in a school attic in the middle of the night, bored
stupid by the Hundred Years War, I scribbled a strange name across a blank
page of A4 - probably to check if my Biro worked. Life has never been quite
the same.
The name meant nothing to me. I can't even remember it. But the moment I wrote
it down I froze. I had an Exorcist conviction that I was being assaulted by
a spirit trying to possess my mind.
The surprising thing about sheer fear - what a doctor would describe as a
chronic panic attack - is the physical grip it has on the body. It's like
plugging your hand into an electric socket for half a minute. The metallic
ringing sound in your head is tinnitus at full volume. It took years to tame
these bouts of panic.
I once talked to Paul Schrader about the strange grip of The Exorcist. The
veteran American director, who spent millions of dollars finishing the
failure Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist explained why no number of
imitators can match Friedkin's film. “The metaphor is extraordinary: God and
the Devil in the same room arguing over the body of a 13-year-old girl. It
doesn't come much purer than that.”
There has been no lack of imitators in the wake of The Exorcist. But the
paucity of fresh ideas in the horror genre is now a genuine issue. The
imminent arrival of two shivery, chalk-and-cheese films from Spain - a ghost
story called The Orphanage and a reality TV thriller, Rec - emphasises just
how parched the English-speaking market has become for good horror.
Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's Rec is a pelting vérité nightmare about a
television crew locked in a city tenement with a flesh-eating virus. The
Spanish equivalent of the National Guard hems the hapless civilians in the
building under pain of death for those who attempt to escape. There are
tanks on the streets and wild rumours about secret genetic experiments that
have gone horribly wrong.
The satire about repression is as bald and brutal as the shapely young
television presenter's fight to survive. The footage shot by her camera crew
sustains the illusion of spontaneity. The jump moments will make you scream.
The premise is a crude copy of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later - but the echoes
of the Franco days cut to the bone.
Juan Antonio Bayona's eerie mystery The Orphanage is an infinitely more subtle
story. The scares here are hidden. It is the story of a campaigning mother,
Laura, who wants to turn the now empty orphanage she grew up in into a home
for disabled children. Her happy memories of growing up in this rickety old
mansion are cleverly contradicted by small flashbacks laid in every room
like depth charges. Laura's seven-year-old son starts spinning unsettling
tales of invisible friends and their cruel games.
Produced by Guillermo del Toro, who made Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage treats
the grief left by the country's political past, in Bayona's words, “like an
open wound. Unlike the English, Spain has no tradition of ghost stories. We
have had to invent our own ways of discussing the taboo.”
According to Hamish McAlpine, a leading producer and distributor of
independent horror, this is exactly what Hollywood should be doing. McAlpine
believes the genre in America has hit the buffers. “Horror has basically run
out of track. It is repetitive, boring and profoundly unimaginative. It does
well at the box office because a lot of kids have not seen the recycled
horrors first time around.”
McAlpine's company, Tartan, has been instrumental in introducing extreme Asian
cinema to the rest of the world, and Hollywood lost little time pasteurising
every scary frame.
He is withering about the quality of these glossy remakes. “Every one of them
has been execrable,” he says. “There isn't a producer in the world who would
proudly own up to one on his CV. It's utterly symptomatic of Hollywood's
chronic lack of imagination about horror.”
Much pleasurable fear has been squandered. The manner and speed with which
critical hits are cloned has diluted our interest in good scares. Good
twists are hard to find. Suspense and brains have been steamrollered by
psychopathic reality. The torture pornography of films such as Eli Roth's
Hostel is now the staple of date movies.
Some directors have tried dressing-down their films to try to rediscover that
vertiginous element of spontaneity. The Blair Witch Project set the pace.
Alfonso Cuarón's grungy vision of the apocalypse, Children of Men, could
have been designed by Swampy.
Should we be unduly worried? Frankly, yes. Horror is the stock exchange of the
movie industry. “It's a boom and bust business,” says Sean Hogan, a British
horror director who is currently working on a novel experiment to make a
anthology film called Little Deaths with two other award-winning directors
with equally scary track records: Andrew Parkinson and Simon Rumley.
“But if the industry does goes bust it's not going to stop the horror,” Hogan
continues. “They are dirt-cheap to make. You don't need famous actors. The
only difference is that there will be infinitely more crap.” But I don't
believe that the era of good fright movies has come to an end - Rec and The
Orphanage show there are ever more sophisticated ways to make us shiver.
The Orphanage is released on March 21 and Rec on April 11
Watch out: scary films to come
One Missed Call (April 4) Director: Eric Valette. Stars: Edward Burns, Shannyn
Sossamon. Students receive phone calls from the future in which they hear
themselves being killed.
Funny Games (April 4) Director: Michael Haneke. Stars: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth,
Michael Pitt, Brady Corbett. Michael Haneke's horribly unnerving remake of
his own film.
Shutter (May 2) Honeymoon couple stalked by ghostly images on their holiday
snaps.
The Happening (June 3) Thriller about a family on the run from a shattering
disaster.
The worst (read best) horrors of the last decade - Kairo, REC, Haute Tension, The Descent and The Orphanage. Honorable mention to Inland Empire - if Lynch ever made a full on horror he'd blow everyone else away
David Watson, Lanark,
[REC] is the scariest film I've seen in the past few years - very effective, especially the erratic pacing. A Tale Of Two Sisters is my favourite "modern" horror film - it fulfils all the horror quotients: great plot, great scares, great twist(s). The Exorcist had the exact same effect on me, especially Father Karras' sighting of his own mother. And Les Diaboliques is a classic!
Mike, Bath,
i've never written a response under one of my own features before but i'm genuinely touched by the quality and sincerity of all your comments. i found it incredibly hard to write honestly about fear. the list of ten most terrifying films is as you can probably imagine impossible to compile without discarding a host of fabulous classics and experiments. you've named dozens of tantalising films i have never seen, and clearly must watch. i don't know whether to thank you, or damn you, for what looks like an awful lot of disturbing nights.
James Christopher, London, England
Someone mentioned a series of "creepy kid movies" below. That sub-genre usually doesn't scare me, but I recently saw "Joshua" w/ Sam Rockwell. A very good, modern "creepy kid" movie with a fantastically creepy score. So many of the modern horror directors miss the opportunity to enhance the atmosphere w/ an eerie score (with real instruments, not just software). Also, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the elephant in the room - CGI has killed horror (and the constant use of cell phones) - is there anything less scary than ring tones and texting?!?!?!?
Christopher, Philadelphia, USA
Kudos to Bob from Reading for mentioning Bob Clarke's gem Black Christmas, a superb film by any standards.
A burly tattooed biker sitting near me in the cinema whimpered like a child during A Tale Of Two Sisters. Less entertainment than being hunted through dark woods for sport.
Steve, New York, USA
chengdu from china is right. "nosferatu", the one from 1922 is very frightning. but i would also like to rimind you of the japanese version of "ringu" and - my special oppinion - "the others". i saw the last one on an age of 23, alone, in an dark cellar (greetings to donnie darko) and scared myself to death...
moe, wuppertal, germany
Blair Witch is/was not scary! The Exorcist? Man, if you're just now comparing that quarter-century old film to the horror films of late, then, well, you're about a quarter of a century too late my friend.
Jared , Bellaire,
The Orphanage is good if you don't mind reading a movie. It is subtitled in english, audio in spanish.
Steven, Benton, IL
The last film to genuinigly freak me out was Nightmare On Elm Street when I watched it around 23 years ago.
I think if you watch horror films on a regular basis like I do, you become hardened to them and find them less scary.
Salems Lot is possibly the scarest movie ever made.
The Grudge (Japanese verson) Ringu and The Descent do have their moments though.
The Exorcist (and the Shining to a lesser degree) lives on its reputation and a great number of people who call it the scariest movie ever have probebly never even seen it.
Steve Coverdale, York, England
It may be over 80 years old, but the original Nosferatu is still terrifying. My 12 year old daughter saw a snippet of it on the internet (Orloff's appearance in the bedroom) and called me to say it is the scariest thing she has ever seen. Eli Roth and these other hacks wish they could have a fraction of that impact!
Ray, Chengdu, China
The Orphanage is BRILLIANT! I can't remember the last time I was scared like that in a movie theatre. The acting is superb and the scares get under your skin and in your head. It's uncanny, frightfully unnerving, and wholly creepy.
Noel, The Woodlands, TX
Two films that have stayed with me for all the years since their release:
"The Other" (1972)
"The Reflecting Skin" (1990)
Creepy kids? They both have them in spades.
Jeff B, Wexford, United States Pennsylvania
5 words people; An American Werewolf in London; there is no metaphorical evil or sub-human mutants but a genuine monster roaming the streets; and the characters in the "film" sell it as such
c, selma, tx
The only movies that have scared me to date where Darkness Falls (the one about the toothfairy) and The remake of Thirteen ghosts. These movies gave me night terrors for weeks and I'm in my Twenties. I thought the exorcist was funny when I was a kid but the thought of a clown that lived in the drain that liked to eat children didn't do me any favours while visiting the circus. The thing about horror movies today is that they either take to long to get to the gore or there isn't enough gore. to madeline in prahran the remake of texas chainsaw massacre is way way scarier then the original and it was probably the best ever remake that hollywood done.
( anything thing that kills you in the pitch black is extremely scary for people like me who are terrifed of the dark.)
Juanita , Clermont, Australia
My second comment on here I know... but got to agree with the original Salem's Lot.... and the book was even scarier I thought.
Gareth, Manchester, UK
There are only two horror/scary films that I've actually had to stop watching - the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a schlocky Mia Farrow vehicle called Blind Terror - the suspense was just too much. But the red-caped dwarf of Don't Look Now chills me still, as do many of the above mentioned movies. But the image that had me telephoning friends because I was just too terrified to stay alone in a house wasn't a movie at all, but Killer Bob slithering over the back of the couch in Twin Peaks. I'm starting to hyperventilate even now, just picturing it. By the way - have to mention what an erudite and interesting crowd of respondents have posted here. Definitely a cut above the norm!
Madeleine, Prahran, Australia
I don't think life will ever be the same if you watch the original Japanese version of Ring (Ringu) - particularly if you know nothing about it in advance. Tartan have done a great service bringing movies like this to a western audience. He is absolutely correct that the American remakes are complete rubbish - why not release the original Japanese version? People can't read subtitles?
Dave, Dublin,
Actually one of the scariest films that I ever saw was a made for TV movie. 1973's "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" was an ABC movie of the week.
Another made for TV movie that scared me was Tobe Hooper's "Salem's Lot" I couldn't sleep for a long time without closing the blinds in my bedroom in fear that one of the Glick boys would come scratching!
"The Exorcist" and Rosemay's Baby" remain as my top 2 most frightening films.
Horror like the ones mentioned are yet to be matched. Not to say that there weren't any good horror movies in the past 30+ years. I enjoyed quite a few original features such as "30 Days Of Night" and remakes such as "Dawn Of The Dead" These movies didn't scare me however.
Kevin, Iron River, USA/ Michigan
Sara, everyone's got their own opinions but the fact that you find Emily Rose to be scarier than the Exorcist is simply mind boggling to me.
Terrence, NYC, NY
I agree completely. The two most recent horror films that were actually scary, were The Descent-which was not American, and The Mist was actually fun, scary, and also an allegory for things going on the real world, like Horror used to be.
Nick Kinsley, Philadelphia, PA
I remember 'The Amityville Horror" having a great impact on me. So did "Pet Sematary", as did "Poltergeist".
I'm also a real big 'road horror' fan. Nothing tops DUEL.
Richard Roma, L.A., California
Your experience with The Exorcist reminds me of my own experience with the mini-series Stephen King's IT.
I know that IT is really bad but I saw half of it at the age of six and didn't realize that the clown actually died.
The next day my dad took my siblings and I to the circus and this clown came up to me..
FREAKED ME OUT!
17 years later and IT still freaks me out.
I can't even walk past an ad for the circus!
Toni, Las Vegas, USA
FirstI have to say that "The Exorcist" didn't scare me I'm only 24, so I was already used to other kinds of scares by the time I saw that movie. Personally, I found it quite boring, with the scariest parts being the demons seen in the background. Otherwise, I find it blah. The movies that have terrified me are more recent films: "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," and the American "The Grudge," I couldn't sleep for a week after seeing "The Grudge," and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is still in my head. I'm Catholic and I believe that demons exist, that's why.
However, I'm not sure you quite understand the genre. Horror movies have always come and gone. You'll get a really scary one that becomes classic, a bunch of copycats, and then the genre dies, only to be reborn with something else. Just look at the genre's ups and downs. Also, one of my favorites is one that came out only a few years ago "Stay Alive." So I think you're over-thinking things.
Sara, Denver, CO
Your article reminded me of my own Exorcist experience in California. The film frightened me out of my wits, and I had considerable difficulty falling asleep that night. After finally drifting off, I was jolted awake by my bed rocking back and forth. The earthquake's timing was exquisite.
Georgette Darcy, Sonoma, California
I second the reader who invoked Salem's Lot. I was far too young when I saw that movie. I can still remember that rocking chair. . .
However, I don't agree with James Christopher that Children of Men is a horror film. It's a dystopian sci-fi film, although a chilling one.
JB, Chicago, USA
In line with the Exorcist is a movie called The Entity about a thing haunting a woman's house. It's an 1980's movie. I agree the Exorcist topping the list as I was a child watching it for the first time. TCM is great, first time I saw it together with my dad, he was not amused as it was too real.
I watched The Communion with Christopher Walken in it and that kinda freaked me out.
Blair Witch ending is a classic as well.
Don't look now still has a deep impact, even today.
Asian horror movies are indeed the future of horror so it seems, very unsettling some of them.
Rogier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Gotta say, the original Carnival of Souls still creeps me out to this day and I'm 32! There's nothing jumpy or gory in the movie - it's just the whole atmosphere the film was given.
Gareth, Manchester, UK
Suspiria. The soundtrack is terrifying and makes the scenes even more tense. Dario Argento's lighting is also quite beautiful, as it was one of the last films produced in Technicolor.
Ben, Clovis NM,
Out of all the movies mentioned, Romero's Night of the Living Dead from the 60's is one of the most purist forms of fear in Cinema.
Modern Zombies don't bother me so much, but the Original, which I bought fairly cheap at a retail store. It may have been a dollar, but I would have paid money to go see it then than now.
The idea of being trapped against the living dead with minimal resources is not so much terrifying as the psychological terror that comes from the grown men arguing, the lead actor and the older male, knowing that there fates were sealed the moment they entered that little house. It a genuinely creepy flm.
Logan Anderson, Troy, Montana
Mad Tigers And Bears (a rehearsed reading at The Brockley Jack Theatre, late May) would make a truly scary film. After all, how many of us want our grasp on reality thrown into serious doubt?
Stephen Hunt, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
Don't Look Now scared me for weeks the first time i saw it, every time i saw a red coat i'd jump a mile.
I love films like hostel and saw but they have no scare factors any more, just gore ontop of gore, fun, but not scary.
Films like Night of the Living dead and Physco are the ones that scare me, they stuck to the basics of gore and emphasised the scare which makes the film much more terrifying.
David Byard, Maidstone, Kent
Two of the scariest films I have ever seen is Audition (South Korea/ Japan) and The Ring (Japan) I couldn't sleep in the same room as a telly after that! Someone mentioned Event Horizon, that was pretty scary to, was quite unsettled after watching that.
Emma, Cambridge,
"Event Horizon" required an effort to stay in the cinema. I watch it about every 2 years as a personal challenge. It's the incomprehensible evil on the other side of the oily wall, so evil it can only be hinted at by screaming torturous mutilation...
Getting shut out of an airlock without a suit on was also a personal childhood phobia, just in case I ever ventured into outer space of course.
Anwar, Bromsgrove,
The biggest jolt I ever got from a film was the last scene of "Carrie", when the arm came out of Carrie's grave and grabbed poor Amy Irving. It was so unexpected - almost gave me a heart attack!!
Grocky, Toronto, Ontario
Another vote for "Night of the Demon". Understated but genuinely creepy, particularly the passed parchment seemingly with a will of its own. A real sense of trepidation pervades it and you accept the protagonists' fears as genuine. Just don't expect state of the art special effects.
Sean Phillips, London,
The Woman in Black was terrifying the first time I saw it. Doesn't really hold up, although it has its moments.
The best horror film I've seen recently is Ring2 (the Japanese version, natch). Creepy, immensely inventive and huge amounts of terrifying fun.
Iain H, London, UK
Rosemary's Baby chilled me to the bone and gave me terrible nightmares for several days after watching it (and usually I find horror movies either hilarious or dull). Even when I was watching this movie, my mind was telling me to switch the television off, but morbid fascination got the better of me!
Emon, Essex,
The Woman in Black is available in segments on YouTube, and it's still very nasty.
"Session 9" is a disturbing film about construction workers gradually unravelling whilst at work in an abandoned mental hospital.
Xian, London,
Alfred Hitchcock's Pyscho. Honestly the scariest film ever. THe simplicity, the rough edges, the clever camera angles, the monochrome shooting, gives a feeling of a dream sequence, that this could be going on inside your very mind.
Talking of dreams, Spellbound (also Hitchcock) the dream sequence in that is scarily representative of real dreams, and the wild dali-touches to the sequence give it such an alien air, even when you could see it happening inside your mind. No film has done that since - tried to get into the minds of people, and show them what they could easily end up seeing. And how terrifying our own imaginations are.
Patsy Blahnik, leicester,
i watched American werewolf in london at age 6 , the scene in the woods frigtened me most , but were wolves still scare me. the excocist didnt scare mei think i was around 10 when i watched it.
Blair witch project was such a dissapointment , i was bored in the cinema ...and people said it will get you later ...it never did get to me .
japenese grudge is good as is there version of the eye but i think the most recent scary one for me was desent, those creepy things still frighten me
sj, vancouver, canada
Forget those 'psychological scarers' which are great thrillers but aren't actually that scary ala Blair Witch, The Shining, Alien, The Exorcist. Instead if you're looking for true scares, watch the excellent Shutter (Thai version). The film is barely heard of outside of Asia but caused shockwaves throughout Thailand on its original release.
I guarantee you're all be covering your eyes throughout and the ending will keep you on edge for days to come! This coming from a hardened horror fanatic!
Works just as effectively watching with a group of friends as by yourself (I dare you!!)
The glory years of horror are behind us? I think Asian film directors would like to have a say in that!!
daryl, Tooting,
I just hope that the remake of "Funny games" ( unbearably horrific ! ) is not as bad as the remake of Clouzot's original masterpiece " Les diaboliques". . . Sharon Stone versus Simone Signoret ...it is like comparing Las vegas to Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Jose Luis, Lisbon, Portugal
I would vote for "Black Christmas" Directed by Bob Clark in 1974 and virtually inventing a new genre of horror movies.
Nick, Reading,
It seems there has always been both shlock horror and better quality scary movies. 'The Others' might not be a proper horror movie, but the first watch at night in the dark, it was good and scary. The Exorcist was more mood and intensity than anything, as was the original Omen. Heck, Videodrome was scarier and creeper than a lot of today's bloodfests.
I don't think it is about being out of ideas, it is about studios not making much worth seeing. Is it a lack of good scripts, do studios not greenlight anything but torture porn horror, or what? A good script can make a classic idea into a good or great new movie. As germ-phobic as folks are these days I'd love to see a good story told around a runaway virus, but you know, without implausible zombies. One need only look at some remakes of classics to see today's movies have no style or mood -- the awful remake of The Haunting is a great example.
I'd love to see the genre revitalized. I love being scared, not simply grossed out.
Jake, Central, MO, USA
I think for me it has to be the Wicker Man. I had never heard of it until it came on TV in the early 90s and I have been a huge fan ever since. I went to a special screening in in Edinburgh recently and it has lost none of its' power. The end with Edward Woodward being sacrificed really really scares me every time. I think it's because of the islanders joyfully singing and dancing as he is screaming for mercy and reciting the Lord's Prayer. The little girl having a toad put in her mouth for a sore throat creeps me out as well!
Linda, Fife,
The Exorcist is a deeply conservative film about the decimation of the family (which may explain why it had such an profound effect on you at a young age); it manages to scrape at the psyche by means of guilt.
I'm not sure which part is more frightening.
Shaun Smith, Toronto,
Funny Games is by far the scariest film I have ever seen - the torture is relentless. I don't think the remake will be as traumatic to watch - it would be too contraversial. I defy anyone to watch this movie and not be affected by it on some deep level...
Rebecca Lori, London, England
Dracula with Christopher Lee - sneaked into cinema at age 11 and I am still suffering and also the original "The Haunting" - saw it at a midnight in Durban with 3 friends and halfway though they were hiding behind their seats - I was too scared to move.
clive, shortlands, kent
You may have been scared shitless by The Exorcist, but my generation's equivalent is The Blair Witch Project. I still can't get over the final scene...
Solo, Columbus, Ohio
The US version of The Grudge scared the hell out of me - I couldn't sleep properly for a week, the creaky-door sound the spirit made was exactly like the bathroom door in my house, which was NOT helpful if my boyfriend got up in the middle of the night! So perhaps I should give the Japanese version a miss...
Sadly (and slightly off-topic), the film that scares me most is Watership Down - General Woundwort still gives me nightmares and I'm 30!
Debs, Bath, UK
No mention of Frank Darabont''s adaptation of The Mist?
The Descent had its moments.
Granny, London,
Blood and gut flying, visual horrors are great for the initial scare at the cinema but psychological, build-up horrors have the best effect of getting to you days, weeks and even years after the experience...
Wolf Creek is an example of the latter that really hits home afterwards...
Tom, Salisbury, Wiltshire,
Imprint by Takashi Miike is a tale of extreme cruelty and perverse vengeance. A modern (2006) marvel and a must for all hardcore horror fans.
Horror's dead? I'd check again, just to make sure
Steve, Manchester, UK
I found "Memento" to be unsettling: as the truth is revealed the main character becomes more and more disturbing. No memory; no remorse; no guilt.
Richard Boyce, Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Night of The Demon...very creepy...and its got its moments. The demon may not be upto much in this day and age but that piece of paper with the Runic symbols flying towards the fire has got to be an excellent piece of cinema.
kirk, Rotherham, UK
'Salem's Lot seconded. If you doubt Kurt and I, watch the 3 hour version on your own one dark and stormy night. Draw the curtains, and put the rocking chair outside.
William Harrington, London,
I just can't get the opening sequences of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" out of my mind. They let you know that you're not in for a pleasurable experience. Rather like Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs". Not a horror film, per se, but something which leaves a profoundly disturbing feeling.
peter koeb, aljezur, portugal
Wolf Creek. It will definitely make you think twice about a road trip through the outback
Russ, Canberra, Australia
There was a film I saw many years ago, cannot remember the title, but there were "things" living in this house and you can hear is the constant whispering of these "things". I still cannot stand whispering as a result.
Stephen Southward, Cheshire, UK
Bambi..............you can lose everything you love in a passing moment.
Esther, London, UK
Just to chip in with one that's not been mentioned - The Wicker Man. (The original of course, not the remake).
Rob Deba, London,
In my experience there are two types of fear that is generated by horror films. There's the 'out of your seat' moment. My favourite example of this is when Leatherface first appears in TCM. Then there's the slow build-up. My favourite example of this is the last few minutes of Alien as the strobe lights slowly speed up the closer Ripley gets to the alien. Awesome. I want to go and watch it now.
Also, there are those floating demons in that episode of Buffy where people couldn't scream. Terrifying.
Paul, London,
The Woman In Black - that charming lady with the green face... It was made by a Viennese director who escaped the Nazis, Herbert Wise (born Weisz). Made for British TV in 1989. Not sure how it bears up these days but it certainly terrified my bro and I when we were young scamps on Christmas Eve '89. Not for kiddies!
Nick, Wessex,
An Chien Andalucian, I know its not really meant to be a horror film but a surreal film, still it gets me every time! 70+ years old so it doesn't have 'special effects' which makes the infamous 'eyeball' scene all the more uncomfortable to watch!
AK, Pig Hill ,
The episode of Buffy with "the Gentlemen".
Hostel is not scary as such. It is just the whole premise is so disturbing that it is hard to get the film out of your head.
dennis, London,
Original, not the forthcoming Hollywood remake of "The Eye" from Hong Kong is one of the best I have seen in a long while.
Jane K, London, UK
Tobe Hooper's 1979 adaptation of Stephen King's novel Salem's Lot.
This two part made for TV miniseries has the most terrifying vampires ever to grace the screen. Pure evil.
Kurt Barlow, Chichester, UK
Sorry, I forgot, the SCARIEST film I have seen was "Snow White". My father had to carry me out screaming "don't eat the apple". I was only 25 at the time, so a bit sensitive.
Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Peter Lorre in 'The Beast with 5 Fingers' which I saw as a child and haunted me for years. It also made me love horror films all of which I can now watch without any fear whatsoever.
Patricia Thornton, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
modern horror - try My Little Eye, a reality show theme, very modern, very scary.
alistair stuart, London, UK
Japanese original version of 'Ring', and the 1940's film 'Dead of Night' (in particular the Michael Redgrave segment).
Tom, Glasgow,
Normally I dont really get freaked out by movies.
Although "Event horizon" had a pretty impact on my fear-level.
Damn stupid human fears.
Imma stop them once and for all :P
Ann, dendermonde, Belgium
There are some really interesting horror films out there, "Tattoo", "Antibodies", "Shietan", the brilliant "The Ordeal" and "Session 9", all of these films provide brilliant narrative twists on old fears... they expose disturbing dark, deep and sticky ideas about contemporary society . Horror movies are not just about instant jump frights and gore, they should provide an alternative view into the human phych often reflecting societies fears and paranoias , leaving these thoughts echoing around in the mind like a scream in a bat filled cave... in fact there are a lot of fans out there enjoying a horror film renaissance - right now we live in frightening times after all... the resurgence in movies dealing with fear of the unknown reflects this.
shane , elwood, australia
I personal have never been scared by any movie after all it`s all make believe and clever use of camera and make up
Clive, Dartford, Kent
My creepiest : "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" @ 8yrs old in July of 1955 @ the Esquire Theater in East St.Louis,Ill. I still have nightmares of this half-man,half-amphibian rising from the muck of the Amazonian backwater to steal away with the beautiful blonde researcher ,taking her to his subterra-cavern for..............Gee.!! I wish I was that Creature !
Dan O'Neill, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
The Haunting, the original one. it absolutely terrified me.
Anna, Sacramento, California
The problem with horror film lists is that most people, yourself included, are looking at the 'slasher' type movie. Some are very good, such as Legend of Hell House, or its predecessor, the Haunting
There are much better horror films than those - the films that have you going to bed with the light on not because of the violence shown, but the fear that is not shown.
For me the best of all is 'The Innocents' with Deborah Kerr, a claustrophobic film with many strands to it.
David Weston, Exeter,
The creepiest film I have seen is the Japanese version of The Grudge.
Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia